Sales of the console are still on the rise and the first four months of 2011 saw figures up 29 per cent on last year.

This could in part be down to the launch of Kinect, another big seller. Last month, we heard how the company has cashed-in on more than 10m Kinect systems, along with 10m standalone games.

The Xbox 360 has been the most-purchased console in ten of the past 11 months too, but these figures only tally US sales alone, and we all know where American loyalties lie in the fight for console supremacy.

Predictably, the Japanese market tells a different story, with sales for Microsoft's console lagging considerably behind the local offering. There, figures show PS3 purchases are six times greater, while Nintendo's Wii sets the pace with more than ten times the overall sales.

NPD's latest figures show the Xbox 360 rests in second place in terms of worldwide sales figures.